Life raft release



Aug. 20, 1946. PETOUHQFF 2,406,250

' LIFE RAFT RELEASE I Filed A ri1'24, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 CD5 7'// V 17. PE TOUHOFF INVENTOR ATTORNEY Aug. 20, 1946. J. D. PETOUHOFF 2,496,250

' LIFE RAFT RELEASE Filed April 24, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 efi/s rm .27. PE TOUHOFF' INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 20, 1946 LIFE RAFTRELEASEf Justin 1). Petouholf, New Yet-Ian. Y. '1 Application April 24, 1943, Serial No. 484,452

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to life raft release and has particular reference to device for supporting life rafts on ships and for'manually or automatically releasing the rafts from the ship when needed.

My invention has for its object to provide means to support a life raft on board of a ship in such a Way that the raft can be easily and quickly released and allowed to drop into the water when the ship is in danger of sinking.

Another object of my invention is to provide means to automatically release the raft when the ship is already sinking, the release being accomplished by the pressure of water from underneath. I provide for this purpose a float releasably supported on the ship near the raft and adapted to be raised by its buoyancy when the ship is sinking, the buoyancy being sufficient to release the raft from the ship.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevational view of my raf-t and its supporting means on board of a ship;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 4 is an end view of a life boat with my automatic releasing device.

My life raft release consists of brackets l attached to the side 2 of a ship 3 for supporting a life raft 4. The raft is held by ropes 5 passingthrough cleats 6 having concave sides for engaging the raft, the outer ends of the ropes being fastened to the brackets l, the inner ends being attached to a plate 1. The plate has a hole at the end for engaging a hook 8 pivotally supported at 9 on a post H! which may be made of angle iron supported on the deck ll of the ship, The hook in its operative position, as shown in Fig. l pulls on the ropes 5 thereby pressing the life raft by the cleats to the side of the ship. The hook is retained in this position by a lever l2 having a hole for the hook 8. The lever is pivoted at l3 on the post It) and has a handle M for its manual rotation and release from the hook 8. A pin l5 may be used for locking the lever in the operative position, the pin engaging a corresponding hole H5 in the end of the hook 8.

For releasing the raft the lever is turned by the handle into an inoperative position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The hook, when releasably support a life raft at the side of a ship;

leased, is turned downward by the pull of the ropes 5 to swing away from the ship, the raft falling into the sea.

For automatically releasing the raft when the ship is already sinking, a float I! is provided,

supported in a cage l8 attached to .the post l0.

The float rests on the bottom of the cage, the latter being-open at the top so that the float can be raised by the pressure of water underneath when the ship is sinking. The float can be formed of a number of hollow containers connected together at H]. A cable or rope 20 is attached to the float, the other end of the cable being attached at 2| to a lever 22. The buoyancy of the float, when submerged in water, is such that it will lift the lever 22 against frictional resistance of the moving parts. The lever 22 is provided with a gear sector 23 engaging a similar sector 24 on the lever l2 so that the lever 22, when raised, will rotate the lever l2, releasing the hook 8 and freeing the raft.

A similar device is provided for a life boat 25 as shown in Fig. 4. ,The boat rests on block 26 on the deck I I and is held down by bars 21. One end of each bar is fastened by ropes or lashes 28 to hooks 29 on the deck II. The other end of the bar has an extension 30 with a pivot 3| at the lower end for a hook 32. The latter is held under tension by ropes or lashes 33 fastened to a hook 34 on the deck II. The end of the hook engages an arm 38 pivoted at 35 to the end of the bar 21 and having a handle 36 at the middle and a float '31 at the end. The hook 32 can be released manually by lifting the arm 38 by the handle 36 or it can be released automatically when the float 31 is submerged in water.

It is understood that my lif raft release may be further modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. Life raft release comprising means to rea cord attached at the outer end to the raft supporting means and engaging the raft, the inner end of the cord extending onto the upper deck ofthe ship; a plate with a hole at the inner end of the cord; a hook pivotally supported at its upper end on the deck, the middle portion of the hook being engaged by the plate, the lower portion of the hook extending substantially horizontally away from the raft; a lever rotatively supported at the upper end on the deck, the lower end of the lever slidably engaging the end of the hook thereby retaining the hook in its horizontal operative position, the upper end of the lever nh A having a gear sector; a handle on the lever for its manual operation; a second lever pivotally supported at the middle, one end of the second lever having a gear sector engaging the gear sector of the first leverjand a float connected to' the free end of the second lever for rotating the second lever thereby rotating the first lever and releasing the hook and the raft supporting cord.

2. Life raft release comprising means to releasably support a life raft at the side of aship;

a cord attached at the outer end to the raft supporting means and engaging the raft, the inner end of the cord extending onto the upper deck of I the ship; a plate with a hole at the inner end of the cord; a hook pivotally supported at its up: per end on the deck having a short portion .ver;

tically extending downwards from the pivot eilgaged by the plate, and a long portion extending substantially horizontal away from the raft; a

substantially vertical lever rotating support at the upper end and having a handle at'the lower end, the lever having an opening engaging the horizontal portion of the hook, thereby preventing the hook to be turned over by .the pull of the cord; a gear sector at the upper end of the leveryagsecondlever pivotally supported at its middle portion; a gear sector at one-end of the second lever in mesh with a ear sector at the :Zend of the first lever; and a float connected at the other end of the second lever.

'JUSTIN D. PETOUHOFFQV 

